# 119-s-851: GUARD Act

119-s-851, GUARD Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-851
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-851
- Congress: 119
- Title: GUARD Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-05
- Sponsor: Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Ties federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) grants to protections for parents who oppose minors' gender‑affirming medical or social care.** It would apply even when there is no medical diagnosis and covers opposition to medical, surgical, pharmacological, psychological treatments and social changes like clothing, names, or pronouns. The bill would let a parent, guardian, or legal representative sue the Department of Health and Human Services to stop CAPTA awards to states that take adverse actions against them and to require return of awarded funds. - Families and guardians: Parents and legal representatives who object to a minor's gender‑related care or social transition could bring court claims to block federal CAPTA funding for states that they say punished or discriminated against them. This strengthens a private enforcement route tied to child‑welfare grants. - States: A state found to have taken adverse actions could lose eligibility for CAPTA grants and face court-ordered repayment of funds it already received. That creates a direct funding consequence for state child‑welfare practices. - Federal agencies: The Department of Health and Human Services would be subject to lawsuits seeking injunctions to stop payments and recovery of grant funds when a court finds a state noncompliant. This adds a judicial enforcement role to CAPTA grant administration.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Protecting parents from state action: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would make a State lose CAPTA funding if it takes adverse action or discriminates against parents, guardians, or legal representatives who oppose medical, surgical, drug, psychological, or social changes tied to a minor's gender identity. It would cover clothing, name, and pron…
- Right to sue over CAPTA awards: benefit, low. If enacted, a parent, guardian, or legal representative who experienced the described adverse action could sue the Department of Health and Human Services in federal or State court. You could ask a court to stop the Secretary from continuing CAPTA awards to a noncompliant State. You could also ask…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025
- 119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-s-206: Restoring Trade Fairness Act

## Sources
- [119-s-851 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/851)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-292)
- [119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-554)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-401)
- [119-s-206: Restoring Trade Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-206)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-851 (as of 2025-12-21).